
That said, you don’t need to spend a fortune. Don’t sell yourself short by buying the cheapest tools you can find. CostĪs we said, reloading equipment is an investment. Not only is plastic easy to break, but it can also soften in heat and get misshapen. But if it’s made of plastic, give it a hard pass. This doesn’t mean buying the most expensive scale money can buy. Do yourself a favor and get a scale that can handle a bit of abuse. If it’s going to pay off, you want to use your gear for years to come before spending money on replacements. For the best results, look for a scale that’s accurate to at least 0.1 grains. If your accuracy is off by half a grain or more, your load quality will suffer noticeably. This is just fine if you’re baking bread, but it’s nowhere near accurate enough for a reloading scale. For instance, kitchen scales are meant to measure things within a few hundredths of an ounce. Reloading scales need to be more accurate than many types of scale. On the other hand, the larger the capacity, the longer the beam needs to be, which means a larger scale. How much powder can you measure at once? Are you manually loading a single cartridge at once, or filling the hopper on an automatic press? More isn’t necessarily better, but it does give you more options. Which type is “best” is a matter of preference, but we’re focusing on mechanical scales today. On the other hand, mechanical scales are more accurate, and calibration issues are easier to diagnose.
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You can even throw it in a drawer when it’s not in use, whereas a manual scale can occupy half a table. The advantage of a digital scale is that it’s smaller than a manual scale and easier to keep clean. Many people use digital scales for reloading. So, what makes one reloading scale better than another? Let’s go over a few things you should be looking for while you’re putting together your reloading kit.
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What sets these scales apart? Let’s find out! How to Choose a Mechanical Reloading Scale This is a smaller scale, but it’s still nice and sturdy, and is also accurate to 0.1 grains. Finally, we’ll tackle the OHAUS 30393272 5-0-5 Reloading Scale. This scale is almost as big as the RCBS model, and is accurate down to 0.1 grains. Second, we’ll be examining the Hornady 050109 Lock-N-Load Balance Beam Scale. This is a heavy-duty magnetic scale with a large, 1,000-grain capacity. First up, we’ll be checking out the RCBS M1000 Magnetic 98916 Powder Scale. Today, we’re going to review three of the best manual powder scales for reloading. Your reloads will be more consistent, and your rounds will land on target. That’s why it’s important to use a good quality scale for measuring out your powder. If your “150-grain” rounds are actually 145-grain or 155-grain, you won’t get the results you want. Of course, all that effort will be wasted if you don’t have an accurate way to measure your powder. With a reloading kit, you can use exactly the bullets you want with exactly the amount of powder you want.

But for target shooters – particularly competitive shooters – even ten or twenty choices might not be enough. This is just fine if you’re hunting or buying ammo for home defense. Even in a common caliber, you’ll be lucky to find more than five or six choices. For instance, let’s say you go to your local gun dealer or sporting goods store.


Not only that, but loading your own cartridges allows you to experiment in ways that you can’t with factory ammo. With the right tools, you can reload your used cartridges, saving boatloads of money. Ouch! As it turns out, much of the cost of ammunition doesn’t come from the bullets or the powder. With larger cartridges, this can add up to hundreds of dollars. In an hour or two, you can find yourself going through hundreds of rounds. If you spend a lot of time at the range, it’s easy to go through large amounts of ammunition.
